This invention relates to the synthesis of bis(1,5-cyclooctadiene)Ni(O), which is useful as an intermediate in the preparation of ethylene oligomerization catalysts.
An article is Annalen der Chemie, 699, 1966, pages 1-23 describes the synthesis of bis(1,5-cyclooctadiene)Ni(O) from Ni acetylacetonate and 1,5-cyclooctadiene in the presence of butadiene. The present invention is directed to a simplified method of cynthesizing bis(1,5-cyclooctadiene)Ni(O) which does not require the presence of butadiene.